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Hercules
Hercules (/ˈhɜːrkjuliːz, -jə-/) is the titular protagonist of Disney's 1997 animated feature film of the same name. The son of Zeus and Hera, his older sister Annie, Grandfather Cronus, Hercules was stripped away from his home on Mount Olympus and turned mortal by his evil uncle, Hades, though he maintained his godlike strength. Under the guidance of Zeus and tutelage of Philoctetes, Hercules would embark on a journey of self-discovery to prove himself a true hero and reclaim his place amongst the gods. Despite his incomparable power and fame throughout Ancient Greece, it wouldn't be until his chance encounter with the femme fatal, Megara, that Hercules would come to understand the true measure of a hero The Romans adapted the Greek hero's iconography and myths for their literature and art under the name Hercules. In later Western art and literature and in popular culture, Hercules is more commonly used than Heracles as the name of the hero. Hercules was a multifaceted figure with contradictory characteristics, which enabled later artists and writers to pick and choose how to represent him. This article provides an introduction to representations of Hercules in the later tradition. Personality While his strength is well above average, Hercules isn't all that intelligent. But what the hero lacks in outstanding brains, he makes up for it in compassion and the desire to do good, which is especially appreciated in a world with constant turmoil around every corner, be it by the hands of a demon or beast, or The Lord of the Dead himself, Hades.As mentioned above, Hercules is compassionate, and his most dominant trait is, without a doubt, his innocence and massively kind heart, in spite of being treated like a "freak" by his peers and those around him (with the exception of his foster parents) throughout his childhood, and adolescent years. Even after becoming a worldwide phenomenon, Hercules retained his innocence and cheerful nature, not once letting the fame dangerously inflate his ego. This makes Hercules one of the purest of heart as a Disney character.Notably, whilst usually on the bright side, Hercules has an effective sternness to his personality, notably seen during the climax of the film, where the actions of Hades take a turn for the worse, killing and threatening the entire world of Olympus, as well as Megara. This can be seen again when his trainer and close companion, Phil, questioned Megara's affections towards the hero after witnessing her plotting against the latter with Hades (though it was a misunderstanding at that point in the movie).The primary lesson Hercules learns throughout the film is what it takes to be a true hero. Something his father Zeus explained he had to learn for himself. After meeting and falling in love with the beautiful femme fatale, Megara, Hercules would learn a true hero is measured by the strength of his heart, as opposed to the strength of his muscles. Physical appearance Hercules has short strawberry-blond hair and blue eyes and wears a brown bandanna on his head. In his god form while he was still an infant before two of Hades' lackeys Pain and Panic remove his godhood by forcefully drinking a magic potion to stop his crying and emerging at the River of Styx after he saves Megara's spirit as an adult, his hair becomes golden blonde and lightens up in a golden hue.As an infant, he only wears a white Roman-type diaper and wears a red necklace with a golden Zeus pendant.As a teenager, he wears a white single sleeveless roman garb and brown warrior sandals. He is not seen without his brown bandanna until being trained heavily by Phil.When he becomes a fully grown adult, he wears a brown Roman warrior armor gear with a dark brown belt, brown wristbands, and matching warrior sandals. He also gains a long light blue cape on the back and wields a warrior sword and shield. Powers and Abilities # Super-Strength: Hercules possesses virtually limitless super-strength. This was his sole remaining godly power after being rendered mortal and appears to be higher than most other gods or titans. In the Disney Universe, only Zeus, Bill Cipher, and Genie rival or surpass him in strength. # Enhanced Durability and Stamina: Although being incomparable to that of immortal Gods, his stamina and entire body including skin are seen to be strong enough to withstand his own actions that are beyond of normal humans on many occasions both in the film and in the animated series. # Enhanced Speed: In some occasions, he is seen to be surprisingly fast and is able to disappear being unnoticed by people in physical contacts. # Trained Hero: As a trained hero, Hercules is a master at using a variety of weapons from ancient Greece including swords, spears, and archery. He is trained to handle dangerous situations, battle monsters, and come up with strategies to win battles. In the animated series, he has also seen to be skilled with various weapons and is able to spy and sneak on subjects diving underground. # Immortality and universal divinity capabilities (formerly): During his brief times as a god Hercules was completely immortal. He would not age, grow sick, or be permanently harmed by any force known. He first lost this power when Hades made him mortal as a baby, and again when he chose to live his life with Meg. History Hercules was born on Mount Olympus with all the powers of a god, to parents, Zeus and Hera and his older sister Annie. In this movie, Hera has been recast as a loving mother instead of a spiteful stepmother like in Mythological tales. On the celebration of his birth, during which the Olympian Gods present the infant god with a multitude of gifts, Zeus himself creates the winged-horse Pegasus as a gift. It seems to be a joyous occasion, although one god is not happy about the new arrival: Hercules' evil uncle Hades, Lord of the Underworld. Hades tried to give his gift, a spiked skull-shaped pacifier to Hercules by attempting to stick it into the baby's mouth. Hercules, however, managed to squeeze Hades' hand in order to get him to drop the pacifier before it almost went into his mouth. Hercules is very strong. He has a super strength that he was born with, and ever since he kept it and knew with it, and when he got older he started to help out the villagers with heavy stuff that they could not carry, and helped them from people who will try to come in the village and do wrong stuff like steal and beat up people. Hades wants to take control of Mount Olympus and the world, and he sees that if Hercules chooses to fight when he is older, his plans will be ruined. Knowing that as a god, Hercules is immortal, Hades sends his two lackeys, Pain and Panic, to kidnap Hercules and turn him mortal by means of a magic potion. Although they succeed in the first part of the plan, carrying Hercules down to Earth, they are interrupted by two human peasants (Amphytryon and Alcmene) before Hercules finishes drinking and the final drop falls wasted on the ground. Pain and Panic nevertheless attack him in the guise of snakes and discover that because he did not drink the last drop he has retained his godly strength and they are beaten back. Amphytryon and Alcmene adopt the child, considering his arrival a gift from the gods since they are themselves childless. Too late, Zeus and the other gods discover the kidnapping. Because Herc is now mortal, however, they are unable to take him back to Olympus. Hercules grows into a strong, but a clumsy teenager who cannot control his godly strength and only ends up causing havoc and alienating those around him. On one occasion, he accidentally flattens the local market town during a game of discus, causing a commotion and triggered anger in the townsfolk, with one of them calling him a "freak", breaking his spirits. Amphytryon tries to cheer him up by telling him not let what everyone said to get to him, but this is no use, as Hercules finally concedes that no matter how hard he tries, he simply cannot fit in with normal people, and questions if he truly belongs on Earth. That night, his foster parents decide to finally come clean to him about the circumstances of his adoption, showing him a medallion they find that bears the symbol of the gods (Zeus' lightning bolt). Hercules sets off to find his place in the world and goes to the Temple of Zeus for guidance. While in the temple, Zeus himself appears (embodying his own statue), and reveals Hercules' origin. He explains that the only way Hercules can rejoin his parents on Mount Olympus is to prove himself a "true hero". A grown-up Pegasus also joins Hercules as a constant companion. As of that moment, Hercules' journey to godhood has begun. He goes to see a satyr named Philoctetes, a trainer of heroes. He initially refuses to train Herc, having been let down too many times by losers who could not go the distance, but changes his mind after Zeus zaps him with a bolt of lightning as punishment for doubting Herc. When Hercules has reached adulthood and has passed his training, he sets off with Philoctetes to become a hero in Thebes. On his way, he encounters Megara, who is being pursued by the lecherous Nessus. Hercules then intervenes, defeating Nessus (after a couple of disastrous missteps) and rescuing Megara (who felt she didn't even need his help in the first place). Phil and Pegasus dislike her. Megara relates the events to Hades, by which he learns that Hercules is still alive and so sends a variety of monsters to kill Hercules, the first of which is the Lernaean Hydra (a 20.4-24.1 meters length dragons with many heads). But Hercules dispatches the Hydra and, during the song "Zero to Hero", is shown to dispatch every other monster Hades sends against him, enraging Hades more and more with each victory Hercules attains against the beasts. By this time, Hercules has become the toast of Greece: famous, rich, and perhaps a little too cocky. He believes himself a true hero and is distraught when Zeus tells him he has not quite gotten there yet, unsure of what more he can do. Megara, on assignment from Hades, convinces him to play "hooky", or truant for the day, going on a date. The date is ended by Phil, irate at Herc for skipping training. Phil was knocked off Pegasus and wakes up in time to learn of Meg's involvement with Hades. He leaves to tell his sure-to-be-devastated protégé, not hearing Meg's refusal to help destroy Hercules. Hades then discovers that Hercules loves Megara and uses that knowledge to attempt to take the young hero out of the picture while he attempts to overtake Olympus.Hercules, ecstatic from the date, refuses to believe Phil's warning about Meg, even accidentally hitting him in a flash of blind anger, prompting Phil to quit as his trainer, with Hercules, still in a state of anger, telling him to go ahead and leave, but becomes remorseful over his actions after Phil has departed. As soon as he is gone, Hades confronts Herc, offering Meg's safety if the hero will give up his strength for 24 hours (long enough for Hades to conquer Olympus). Hercules is reluctant to see anyone hurt, but Hades vows that no harm will come to Meg. Herc agrees, and Hades takes the opportunity to humiliate him by revealing Meg's role in his scheme. Enacting his plan, Hades sends a Cyclops that he frees from Tartarus with the other Titans to destroy Hercules so that he can't get in the way later on. Hercules has been so disheartened and demoralized by learning that Meg had been working for Hades (only to realize that Phil was telling the truth about Meg working for Hades and should have listened to him all along), that he doesn't even try to defeat the Cyclops. Meg hurries to fetch Phil, who convinces Hercules not to give up. Using his wits, he seizes a nearby torch as a weapon. He is able to defeat the Cyclops, which he does by burning its eye and sending him hurtling off a cliff.The monster's fall causes a pillar to topple towards Hercules and Megara pushes him out of the way, taking the impact of the pillar. This, in turn, causes Hercules to regain his strength because Hades' end of the bargain is now broken. Megara, however, is gravely injured and Hercules leaves her in the care of Phil while he rushes off to thwart Hades' invasion of Olympus. His first move is freeing the Olympian Gods from their shackles, then his father Zeus from his imprisonment by the Ice and Lava Titans. He immediately engages the Titans. Ultimately, he wins the battle by using the Wind Titan to suck up the other three Titans, then uses all his strength to hurl them into outer space. There, the group of Titans explode and are forever silenced. After thwarting the invasion, Hades shouts to him that he's got Meg's soul as his 'consolation prize', and Hercules rushes back to Meg's side, only to find that she had died moments before he got there, her Thread of Life cut by the Fates. However, he then travels to the Underworld to rescue Megara's spirit. Hercules manages to capture Hades' dog, Cerberus, and ride it to Hades' lair. Hades is undisturbed by this, even going so far as to taunt him. When Hades points out that Meg is dead and belongs in the Underworld now, Hercules makes a deal that he will trade his soul for Meg's. Hades agrees to this - IF Hercules can get her out. To do so he must dive into the River Styx, which swiftly ages mortals upon contact, killing them if they spend too long in there. Hercules nevertheless enters the pool to rescue Megara's soul. Although he begins to age as Hades forewarned, he does not die, as his selfless act fulfills the requirement for being a true hero and, thus, Hercules regains his godhood, rendering him immortal moments before the Fates could cut his Thread of Life, leaving them stunned that Hercules is immortal again. He then defeats Hades by punching him into the River Styx and returns Megara's soul to her body.He is then invited by Zeus to live in Olympus, which was indeed originally his wish, but he decides rather live his life on earth as a mortal with Megara. Although he will eventually die, he believes that even an immortal life without Megara would be empty. Zeus and Hera respect this wish, and Hercules returns to the city of Thebes. Labours Hercules is known for his many adventures, which took him to the far reaches of the Greco-Roman world. One cycle of these adventures became canonical as the "Twelve Labours", but the list has variations. One traditional order of the labours is found in the Bibliotheca as follows: Slay the Nemean Lion. Slay the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra and crab. Capture the Golden Hind of Artemis. Capture the Erymanthian Boar. Clean the Augean stables in a single day. Slay the Stymphalian Birds. Capture the Cretan Bull. Steal the Mares of Diomedes. Obtain the girdle of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. Obtain the cattle of the monster Geryon. Steal the apples of the Hesperides. Capture and bring back Cerberus Category:Male Category:Characters Category:Heroes Category:Mammals Category:Animated Category:Good Characters